The more things change…

I’m at the start of an exciting new transition in my writing life, and I’m excited to share it with you, my readers.

For a while now, I’ve been considering transitioning out of romance and into my first love, pure science fiction and fantasy. And I think now is the time. I’ve made some headway in the romance genre and won a few awards, but I haven’t found any real traction. And by that, I mean sales. I can’t seem to find much of an audience for my books. And I think it’s because I tend to be listed in the wrong genre.

So, I’ve decided to change gears…

Moving forward, I’m planning some new projects that will not be considered romance. Sure, there will probably be some romantic elements, but they will definitely be more fantastic adventures, without the assurance of a “happy ever after” ending.

And that brings me to my first project: The Demon Gate Chronicles.

A little over seven years ago, I published my second book, There’s No Such Thing As Werewolves, which evolved into my Demon’s Rising series. I’ve always meant to revisit this world and continue/conclude the story I began with these first three books.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve taken these stories, re-titled, re-edited, revised, and re-imagined them, and I plan to release them soon. The romance elements have been softened. I’ve removed explicit sex scenes, and I’ve upped the dark urban fantasy elements to move them into a different genre. While the stories remain essentially the same, there will be some differences. So, to that end, the above books will soon be going away.

Forever!

I’ve reduced the pricing on the Kindle ebook versions of these three books to just 99¢ in case anyone wants to read them in their original form. But they will only be available for the next couple of weeks.

You can find them here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074C9F59Q

(But if it was me, I’d wait for the new versions, coming soon.)

Stay tuned for more information on this exciting new/old series.

Romance Writers Weekly – The spark that fires the imagination.

Welcome to the romance Writers Weekly blog hop, where every week a great group of romance writers answer questions and accept challenges. Diverse in what we write, we are unified in the quest to bring you, the romance reader, a very happy ever after.

You can join us daily on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RomanceWritersWeekly/

Check out Emma’s Dance by Leslie Hachtel.

If you’re starting your blog hop here, or just hopping over from Leslie Hachtel’s wonderful blog, welcome.

Coming soon.
Preorder today.

Our topic today comes from the amazing A.S. Fenichel – Choose one of your books and tell us where the idea came from. Was it a dream, an overheard conversation, did it spark from a previous book you wrote? How did the idea come to you and how did it evolve into a full story. If you want to share a snippet, that would be awesome too. 😀

 

When I wrote my Demons Rising series I actually wrote the second book first, as a stand alone novella. It was that story, and one particular character, that inspired the series. Though the series features three separate romances, it’s really the story of Nathan Gray, the sorcerer who is so much more. He entered The Forsaken Templar tale a full-blown mystery man and I realized I needed a prequel story to fully flesh him out, so There’s No Such Thing As Werewolves was born.

Here’s the way Nathan first appeared to me (From The Forsaken Templar):

     With a crack of thunder the doorway to purgatory slid open, ripping the bonds of reality. Through the mist a gaunt, old man stepped between the world of the living and the world of the damned. Nathan Gray was seeking a soul.

     His crisp black suit and clean white shirt seemed an ordered contrast to the chaos around him. His stilted walk was slow but purposeful. It was not his age that he felt, but rather the weight of humanity resting on his shoulders.

     A thousand voices cried out in hope – so many souls, doomed to spend eternity in torment. Nathan hardened his heart against the assault on his senses.  He knew the one he sought. Geoffrey le Court had never once called out to him. Yet, of them all, Geoffrey was the most deserving of redemption.

***

He started as a minor character, and quickly grew to dominate the series. So who is Nathan Gray? A good place to start answering that question is right here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XLWPENC/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

Now, continue your blog hop by joining the wonderful Jenna Da Sie at http://jennadasie.com/

 

WisRWA Write Touch Conference special

Well, I’ll be off tomorrow for the Wisconsin Romance Writers of America Write Touch Conference for a weekend of hobnobbing with my fellow writing wizards. You can find out all about it here: http://www.wisrwa.org/conference.html

I am so looking forward to it.

At last year’s conference I gave away a copy of There’s No Such Thing As Werewolves to everyone that attended. This year I’m giving away a copy of the sequel, The Forsaken Templar, to everyone that attends…and to everyone who can’t attend.

That’s right. Even if you can’t attend the conference you can get your free copy of The Forsaken Templar. I’ve put the Kindle version on sale today through Monday for $.00. Free! Go get yours now, before they run out. (Okay, they won’t run out. It’s an ebook.) You can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0081S8LPO

Now, I have to go pack.

Until next time,

Steve

It’s baaaaack!

Yup, it’s time once again for our popular Adopt a Werewolf campaign. Here at A writer’s Haven we’re dedicated to finding homes for these adorable growling, fanged demons from another dimension. I mean, can you look in these eyes and say no?

So many of you have commented to me about the joys of having a werewolf to cuddle up with around the house, and it has warmed my heart. I’ve even heard of people passing around their werewolves just so others can know the joy of spending quality time a vicious, fanged creature. Well, we won’t be happy until everyone has a werewolf of their very own.

Remember, Werewolves, with their big, glowing red eyes, razor sharp fangs, and blood drenched talons, slice, dice and make wonderful Julianne fries. They are something you can take with you on your Kindle or Kindle app device, wherever you go.

Yup, now through Tuesday you can get your very own Kindle copy of There’s No Such Thing As Werewolves…FREE! Join the thousands of werewolf owners, cowering under the covers at night reading the Demons Rising series, while their cuddly pet snarls and scratches at the bedroom door.

Adopt a Werewolf today. It’s Free! (Click here to start your adventure)

Redeem a Templar.

From The Forsaken Templar:

With a crack of thunder the doorway to purgatory slid open, ripping the bonds of reality. Through the mist a gaunt, old man stepped between the world of the living and the world of the damned. Nathan Gray was seeking a soul.

     His crisp black suit and clean white shirt seemed an ordered contrast to the chaos around him. His stilted walk was slow but purposeful. It was not his age that he felt, but rather the weight of humanity resting on his shoulders.

     A thousand voices cried out in hope – so many souls, doomed to spend eternity in torment. Nathan hardened his heart against the assault on his senses.  He knew the one he sought. Geoffrey le Court had never once called out to him. Yet, of them all, Geoffrey was the most deserving of redemption.

Well, the souls are piling up in purgatory, and the place is in complete disarray,  but you can help. Yes, right now we are featuring our Redeem a Templar Promotion. Thousands of crusty old dead knights are lining up at the gates of purgatory, and ready to fly to your Kindle device or Kindle reader. Just like Nathan Gray, you can redeem your own Templar Knight, and the best part is, it’s FREE, FREE, FREE!!!

Yes, through Sunday, January 27, you can get The Forsaken Templar (Kindle edition) Free.

There’s a tortured soul just waiting for you right here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0081S8LPO

Show them you care.

Steve

Seeds of Immortality – the cover

Well, Seeds of Immortality is done, pre-edited, and off to my beta readers. So I took a bit of time to work on the cover, and here it is:

Here is the back cover blurb:

With the demon lords stepping up their bid for world domination, Templar commander Ryan Chamberlain knows that the Templars and Arcanists will have to learn to work together. But thousands of years of animosity are not easy to wipe away in just a few months. In a bid to smooth over the transition from enemies to allies, Ryan agrees to partner with Salina Fry, one of the most powerful Arcanists. But it only takes one mission to convince him that the sexy sorceress might just be the death of him.

Salina knows she can’t trust the Templars. Especially their leader, Ryan Chamberlain, no matter how good looking the man is and if that pompous wind-bag thinks he gets to run everything in their new little partnership, he’s got another thing coming. Maybe batting those dreamy eyes at other women gets Ryan what he wants, but if he gets in Salina’s way, she just might have to kill him.

The war escalates as the demons rise to power, and just when mankind needs them most, Gaia and the High Lord have gone missing. Only the Seeds of Immortality hold any hope for mankind, but can Ryan and Salina put aside their differences long enough for the Seeds to blossom?

Seeds of Immortality is the third book in the Demons Rising Saga. It’s a tale of love, tragedy and triumph in a very dangerous world.

 

I’m pretty excited about this book. it completes the Demons Rising Saga and sets up a whole new dark future for me to adventure around in. You can rest assured I’ll be returning to the story line, though I’m not sure when my writing schedule will allow me.

Coming up next? Edits on Son of Thunder, and diving into the sequel, Daughter of Darkness.

Until next time,

Steve

The Seeds Are About To Be Planted

At long last I am back working on Seeds of Immortality, the third book in the Demons Rising series. I am almost finished with the first draft, and hope to have it done, edited, and to my beta readers sometime next week. Then comes the fun of putting together the cover.

With luck, this will be my last self-published title. Now that I have a publisher I will be able to spend less time on things like covers and formatting, and more time on writing, editing and promotion. It’s been fun, learning the process from the ground up, but I have so many stories I want to tell, it will be nice to have the Soul Mate team behind me as I move forward.
Until next time,

Steve

Get ready for act 2!

Well, my brief stint as an actor is over (for now anyway). We had a great run this weekend. Lots of laughs and applause, so I must have done something right.

I had a ton of fun, and interacted with an incredibly talented cast and crew.

And…I’m exhausted. After the final performance we tore down the set, and moved costumes, props and set pieces back into storage. There is so much that goes on before and after the show that people don’t see, and so many people onstage and behind the scenes that make the magic happen. It is a complete team effort.

It was a creative process much like my writing. We built scenes, created characters and told a story. We had a fantastic director to pull all the pieces together.

But, unlike writing, this was a group effort. Tomorrow (yeah, I’m giving myself today off) it’s back to just me and my computer.

Then again, I now have a publisher on my team, and an artist working on my book cover… and soon an editor helping me sharpen my story. I also have a wonderful (and growing) group of friends and fans, my audience, reading my books and following me. Maybe writing is not so different from putting on a play. If I think of Swiftly Beats the Heart as my overture and Demons Rising as my first act, then it appears that Son of Thunder is just waiting in the wings.

Get ready for Act 2!

Until next time,

Steve